Skeleton in the Closet
by Pranktical Joker
Summary: Every house has its own dark secrets, and Sora's is no exception. AU, rated T for minor cursing and potentially frightening and/or disturbing themes for younger readers.
1. Where the Heart Is

_Pre-note: Hello, readers! I've decided to try my hands on something new: a horror story. It might be due to the fact that I've been watching too many horror movies lately. The story's premises and progression will be referring to some of those movies, but I believe the one that's most prominent is The Conjuring because it was still very fresh in my mind at the time of writing._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise._

_Enjoy the read._

* * *

Having a renowned mystery novel writer as a father could be great. One wouldn't have to worry about money, for one, because the amount of money flowing into the family from the royalties was just ridiculous. If he wanted to not work after growing up, that would be completely fine, because practically his father's income could cover him and his sibling—if he had had one—for his entire life.

Not only that, he didn't have to worry about education. His parents had made sure that he would be able to stay educated, perhaps for the rest of his life. He didn't really consider himself a bright student—just above average fit him better, he thought—but the tuition support was incentive enough for him to try his hardest so as not to disappoint.

All those perks seemed awesome, and combined with lots and lots of money his father had been making so far, he had everything a boy could have wished for. True, it all made him seem like the epitome of a spoiled brat, but really, there was no denying the fact that he couldn't have asked for anything else, correct?

Wrong. Sora had just found out quite recently that it didn't work like that for him and his family.

Being a writer meant his father was in a constant pursuit of ideas, which had taken him places. Now in the past, travelling had been a totally cool and dandy idea because his father would only go for an excursion and return after a short while, but sadly, it wasn't the case this time. Because his genre of choice was mystery—mostly touching on the macabre business of murder—inspiration wouldn't come as easily as that for, say, fantasy, would.

And what did that mean?

That meant, because a severe writer's block had struck, his father had come up with this brilliant idea of moving out from their current residence into a whole new one. To make things worse, the destination in mind had to be either of the following: in the proximity of a past crime scene, or a past crime scene itself, although this was a piece of information his father had been withholding from the others. Combined with the research and studying of case files, his father believed that being at the heart of the problem—so he said—would do absolute wonders to his performance and boost his writing quality, which ultimately would result in more money.

This was the reason behind the family's moving-out from their hometown of Destiny Islands, the town in which Sora had spent his ten years of life. By doing so, he had left his past behind: the cozy home, the beaches, the parks, and the school. It had been very difficult for him to turn his back toward everything he had experienced and walk away.

But nothing could have possibly come as close as the loss of his friends.

Having to leave Riku and Kairi, his childhood friends, had utterly devastated him. He could still remember the looks coming from them when he first told them that he would be leaving; they had stared at him as though he had grown four additional heads. The extremely bitter aftertaste of their heartfelt farewell still lingered even until now, and truth be told, it hurt a lot.

Because of all those things, Sora had been silent ever since leaving the Islands. He had opted to withdraw and stay at the very back of the family's RV, staying busy with his handheld game console and only emerging to the middle portion when he felt the need to either dehydrate or relieve himself. Lucky for him, his parents had decided to give him all the time he needed to cope, because if they had so much as asked what he might have needed, perhaps he would have just ignored them.

Finally, after a long and exhausting journey on the road, the family reached their destination. And the place they would soon be calling "home" was nothing short of lofty.

It wasn't your everyday, ordinary house. In fact, a house would be quite an understatement to describe the building.

It was a mansion.

Located within a few kilometres from the frontiers of a quaint town known to locals as Twilight Town, the mansion stood proud as though boasting that it had survived the harsh tests of time and nature. Old, yet still retaining its glory, it was protected by solid brick walls to all four directions, beyond which lay an expanse of pine trees. There were two ways in and out: the first was through a tall, intimidating steel gate that would open only via the use of a remote, while the other, a much smaller one next to it with a simple doorknob-style locking mechanism.

Past the gates was a lawn, through the middle of which a paved walkway cut and led to the main building. A few stone pillars—some had crumbled—lined the walkway. Strangely, the pillars possessed a certain je ne sais quoi that made Sora feel uneasy when walking past them; it was as though they were scrutinising him intently with eyes and ears unseen, watching every movement he made with each step.

The interior of the mansion was also a marvel to their eyes. Upon opening the main doors, their eyes were treated with a sight of a grand foyer, its walls and tiles golden from the glow of the twilight. Directly across and in between two flights of stairs leading up was a plexiglass door, and through it one could see a court that connected to the backyard. On either side of the foyer were a few doors and doorways, and so were on the second floor.

This was simply too big a house for a family of three, and Sora couldn't help but wonder how in the world his father could purchase it for a relatively small amount of money. But he wouldn't complain; as long as he had a place to sleep, eat, and play, he should be fine.

It was such a shame that though shelter could be replaced, memories and friends could not. And no matter how well-off and sustained he might be right now, it would take long before he could let go of his memories of the days bygone.

"Well, this is it… our new home. It's really a blessing we can move in here, and I'm sure it's for the better," said Sora's father. Although he was the most familiar with the house out of the three of them, perhaps because he had been here in the past during his survey, he was still visibly in awe.

They say home is where the heart is, but Sora's heart was still back on the Islands.

This wasn't his home, not just yet.

* * *

The sun was shining gently, although that was the harshest it would ever get around here. True to its name, in Twilight Town and its vicinity, the sun never seemed to rise more than a few degrees above the horizon. Some said this was caused by geographical irregularities, some planetary inclination, and some paranormal reasons, but the fact remained that the area always experienced golden days.

The warm tone that was cast all over the land would surely support melancholy, relaxation, laziness, and winding-down in general. Unlike locals who had grown accustomed, tourists, visitors, and newcomers were the ones who were affected the most by this phenomenon; red-yellow rays of the sun and orange skies were reminiscent of evenings, that time of the day when people would return from work and school to reunite and unwind with their families.

And since Sora was a newcomer, he was affected.

He had brought the suitcases containing his belongings into a bedroom. He was supposed to unpack, but felt too tired and lazy to do so. Instead, he had thrown himself into the bed—which was surprisingly springy—and observed the rather spacious room that was now of his own.

The colour scheme of the room was rather unusual. Two opposing walls had been painted completely white, while the other pair, black. The tiles had been arranged in a checkerboard pattern. Even the furniture—wardrobe, study desk, chair, end table, and the frame of the queen-sized bed—was all either black or white. It was as though in this room, only those two colours were allowed and all others were prohibited, making Sora feel as though he had contaminated its purity when he covered the bed with his multicoloured bed sheets.

On the end table by the bed stood a lamp, also conveniently coloured black and white. Obviously, with that little star on top of it, the lamp was designed for children. Sporting a few scratches, it looked quite old, and Sora was surprised that it could still work just fine when he flicked the switch; he had expected it to fail to function at all.

Now that was what Sora thought was strange with this house. His father had said that the house had been vacant for a few years before they moved in, yet everything was still in perfect order. From the moment he stepped inside the house, not once had he spotted a single speck of dust, and all electronic and plumbing utilities integrated with the house worked in an almost impeccable manner save for a flickering light bulb in the hallway directly outside his room. Whoever he or she was, the housekeeper had done a very commendable job in keeping everything smooth.

All things considered, he returned his focus on the room he was in. Taking the unorthodox theme of the room, the design of the bedside lamp, the presence of a study desk, and the relatively tiny size of the wardrobe—almost exactly the same size as his old one—into thought, Sora came to a conclusion that this room had once belonged to a child, possibly not much older or younger than he was.

"Sora, honey. Have you finished unpacking your stuff?"

Suddenly, in the midst of his musing, he could hear that voice echoing down the hallway and into his room. He had to act fast; it had been several hours since they had arrived at this mansion and Sora still hadn't taken out anything other than his bed sheets from one of his suitcases. His mother wouldn't be too happy about this, and with that in mind, he sprang up from the bed, immediately unzipped his suitcases, and scattered his clothes unceremoniously all over the room to make it appear that he had done something.

"Doing it right now, mom," he said in reply to his mother's inquiry. At least he wasn't lying.

A few moments later, his mother came strolling in. Seeing the room in a total mess, she sighed and smiled weakly. "Well, that's… not exactly what I had in mind by unpacking. These things have to go somewhere, and that's the wardrobe over there," she said while seating herself next to her son on the floor. "I know you hate folding clothes, so do you want some help?"

Sora shook his head and refused politely. He knew his mother was only here to check on him and probably was in the middle of something important, so he didn't want to trouble her further. "I'll be fine. Seriously, though…" he said, his voice trailing off. "Do we really have to do this?"

The mother just shrugged in reply. "Is it my fault that you have so many video games? Next you'd be complaining about how heavy all those consoles are combined. For real, Sora, you could kill a bear with your suitcase here."

"That's not what I meant…"

Sensing the depression behind Sora's voice, she immediately understood what he was trying to convey across. She held him in a hug and rubbed his back in circles, because this gesture had never failed to calm him down. "You know how important this is for your father. I know it's hard to leave everything behind… trust me, I wished we didn't have to move."

"You wished. Past tense," said Sora dejectedly, although he returned the hug nonetheless.

"Things happen, Sora, and sometimes there's nothing we can do about it. But remember, everything has a bright side."

"Like what?"

"Like… we don't have to start from scratch, for one. And it's near Twilight Town. We both know there's a good school there, and you'll be going there."

Sora wanted to mention Riku and Kairi, but refrained. That would just make him feel worse. "But when? And until then, I'd be alone."

"What are you saying, honey? Dad and I will be here with you. It's not like I can straightaway get a decent job, although that'd be real nice. Besides, you know you'd only lose your way when left alone in a house as gigantic as this."

At his mother's words, Sora gave a light chuckle and decided to play along. "That's not losing my way. It's called ex-plor-ing," he said, breaking down the word into its syllables so distinctly.

"Really? And what are you hoping to discover, young explorer?"

"A treasure room. And when I find it, everything inside it is gonna be for me."

"Well, I wish you good luck, because this seasoned explorations veteran here has the same intention."

"Hehe, I'll show you you're wrong. You should get ready to lose, mom."

By now, Sora had returned to his cheerful self, although in his sea-blue eyes still lingered a trace of sadness. That, however, would eventually go away completely; he just needed some time to cope, and during that period, he should always be kept entertained to ease his mind from the emotional burden he was undergoing right now. This was just a transitional phase, and everybody knew it was always a particularly harsh period of time, but Sora would manage and fare well.

With that in mind, the mother loosened his hug and kissed him on the forehead. "Alright, I should be going now. If anything, you know where to find me, right?"

"The last room along the hallway across. See, I remember," replied Sora. "I told you, this young explorer won't get lost."

Yes, Sora would be just fine, alright. The mother gave a small smile, stood up, and turned around, preparing to leave to attend to what she needed to take care of…

"Oh, and mom?"

But Sora stopped her with his words. She turned around once again, seeing her caramel-haired son looking down at the floor. Before she could ask what was wrong, Sora lifted his head and looked at her, showing her that megawatt smile pasted on his face.

"Thanks. I feel better now," he said in gratitude.

She couldn't resist cracking a smile of her own. Now this, she thought, was more like the Sora she had always known. "You're welcome, honey," she replied before walking out and shutting the door.

Once again, Sora was left in the bedroom by himself. His mood having been lightened from that exchange, the boy took a deep breath and exhaled audibly, trying his best to let go of the past he had grown so fond of and attached to. While it was true that he might no longer be able to meet with Riku and Kairi, it wasn't like technology hadn't advanced that he couldn't drop them emails or, better yet, video-conference with them in real time via the Internet. In addition, he would surely make friends with new people at his new school, so life really wouldn't be that miserable.

And his mother was correct. The sheer size of this house practically called for a good exploration. Although he was merely kidding when saying that he was hoping to discover a room filled with treasure, who was to say he wouldn't come across anything interesting in the house? A secret passage accessible through the backyard, a hidden chamber beneath the stairwell, or even a door to another world taking the form of a wardrobe just like in that one movie… it all was possible, and at this thought, Sora grinned even more widely.

Indeed, there were so many things to do and look forward to. Possibly, this journey might not be as hard as he had previously thought.

* * *

_Post-note: It was a slow start, alright, considering this was just an introductory chapter. Do let me know how the story is looking so far, and I always appreciate constructive criticisms. Just be aware though that unlike my ongoing story, Memories of Days Bygone, this one won't have fixed update schedules. Until the next chapter!_


	2. What Life Has in Store

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise._

_Enjoy the read._

* * *

The first day had passed, yet Sora still hadn't uncovered any secrets this house might hold. It wasn't like he could have roamed about.

Yesterday, the movers had arrived not long after that little conversation between Sora and his mother. Because they had been so busy going back and forth, in and out of the house to transfer furniture and electronics from the trucks to various rooms, there wasn't too much space for Sora to be around. He had stayed in his room, which had been quite peaceful since all that needed to be moved there had only been a computer unit, the monitor that came with it, and a not-so-big television set.

Sora used to think that there were a lot of things to be moved from his Destiny Islands house to right here. While he wasn't wrong, it still amazed him to no end how right now, everything had been moved and there simply was still so much free space in the house. It sure was a huge house, and perhaps his mother's words—"You know you'd only lose your way when left alone in a house as gigantic as this," she had said—held some value of truth after all.

Take the living room, for example. The sofa, coffee table, and the forty-inch television set that had taken slightly less than half the space of the old living room didn't take even a third of the current one. The bathroom? One would need to walk for seven steps from the toilet to reach the bathtub. His bedroom? Even with what he had right now, it still felt empty, and it wasn't because of the colour scheme. And the foyer? That one was the best of all; everybody was welcome to play football in that room.

In any case, the movers had only helped putting stuff in the right rooms since by the time they had emptied the trucks, night had already fallen. As a cost-saving measure, the family had decided to arrange the furniture and all themselves, and that was what they had been doing since the previous night.

Being just a young boy, Sora had been given the privilege to not have to help out. His parents had been aware that he had been so exhausted from the long trip, so they had allowed Sora to go and get some rest. And so, having been granted permission, he had immediately taken a relaxing bath after eating his dinner, set off into his room, and gone straight into sleep. Its irresistible charms had taken over in no time; he had slept like a rock and woken up in a very refreshed state.

To his utter surprise, in the morning, he saw that everything had been arranged so very nicely, although there were still a few empty boxes lying around. His parents must have been awake until late doing all the work, and when he checked on their room, they were still asleep. That wasn't too surprising; there was no way one didn't get exhausted after doing such labourous work.

He actually had wanted to help his parents yesterday. Figuring the least he could do was to stow the boxes somewhere, he began roaming around the house, this time freely, to find a place to hide them from plain sight. "Let's see… I think I can just put them away in the store. But where's the store again?"

It was true that Sora was still unfamiliar with the floor plan of his new house. He searched, in vain, upstairs, although he did come across an empty room that most likely would function as his father's study. Moving downstairs, he began his search from the kitchen because that was where the store had been at in the old house, but again, no luck. He thought the sliding doors by the entryway were his target, but no, for they led to the shoe drawer. His excursion to other rooms resulted in nothing, and he started to grow frustrated for being unable to find just one lousy store.

The only place he hadn't been to was the backyard past the plexiglass doors across the foyer, so that was where he was going next. He had indeed heard stories and watched movies in which the characters stored some of their belongings in a shed in their backyard, but those were usually horror stories telling about haunted houses. And this house… so far, nothing strange had taken place, so Sora believed it wasn't a haunted house. Correct?

It wasn't that if he found a shed in the backyard, his house was sure to be haunted. He knew that, but he still had mixed feelings about this. What if it was a prelude of things yet unknown? What if it was a sign that this house might not be so innocent as he had previously thought? What if the secrets he had been hoping to uncover were in fact dark secrets? What if there was a dead body in the shed?

He shook his head violently and slapped himself mentally. 'C'mon, you're crazy. Nothing bad's gonna happen, Sora, nothing bad's gonna happen…' he said to himself, repeating the words as though they had been some kind of a mantra.

Swallowing his worry, Sora advanced toward the door to the backyard. When he was already before it, hesitation struck him hard; as though anticipating that an unknown entity would rush into the house, he turned his head to the left as he prepared to push it open…

… and that was when he saw it.

There was this one door he hadn't seen before. Located at the end of a short, rather narrow recess under the stairwell, the door was wooden and of plain, ominous black colour, completely in contrast to other doors in the house that were either brown or white. If one wasn't observant enough, he or she wouldn't be able to find it, and in Sora's case, it was pure chance.

"That's a strange door. I wonder where it connects to?" he mumbled.

Said boy was unsure whether or not this was worse than a shed in the backyard, but again, he shoved aside his feelings of worry and anxiety. Once again, he mumbled that mantra in his head, made his way toward the newfound space, and—this one he didn't know how he managed to do—turned the knob without hesitation and pushed the door open.

He could feel warm air breezing from behind, indicating that the temperature was cooler inside. There was a strong smell of mildew emanating from the depths of the room. Suddenly, Sora sneezed, and in the process he unknowingly stirred the previously dormant dust into the air; because of that, he had to back away a good distance from the doorway, sneezing again and hacking as he did so. It seemed his initial presumption that this house was perfectly spotless had been wrong.

"Geez, a room under the stairs. Isn't this great…"

After waiting for a while for the dust to settle, Sora then reentered the room. Upon flicking the light switch, he found out that he had finally found the room he had been looking for.

In the room stacks of boxes stood high, some precariously. It was as though the slightest touch would cause them to tumble. It wasn't only the boxes that had had Sora walk in small, careful steps; the dust on the floor was so thick it could get agitated only by the shuffles of his feet, and every time he took a step, the wooden boards that acted as the flooring creaked as though they would give way.

"So this is the store. I just hope nothing will come out of this place and starts firing off magic. That'd be cool, though…"

The store was more spacious that Sora had expected, taking the entirety of the empty space beneath the stairwell in the foyer, but thanks to the careless—and dangerous, one might say—organisation of the stuff being stored inside, there wasn't much space left. Sora figured, however, that what little remaining space he had here would be enough to hold the boxes that had been lying untouched upstairs since yesterday which, in his opinion, had become an eyesore.

With that, he carefully made his way out of the store so as not to cause unnecessary agitation of the thick layer of dust that had formed on the surfaces, shut the black wooden door, and sighed in relief. Now, he only needed to convey his intentions to his parents, and possibly, he would be rewarded with a nice meal for breakfast or lunch for being such a kind and helpful son!

Grinning like a madman at the thought of tasty food, Sora then walked away.

But that grin was wiped off of his face by a thud-like sound.

And the sound came from inside the store.

His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed, Sora turned around and stared at the door. Did he just hear something from within? It sure did sound like something heavy hitting the floor. Was it one of the boxes, or… something else? He did the equivalent of shutting down his other senses for a while, focusing solely on his hearing. Although he really wasn't sure about this, for some reason, he was half expecting to hear that sound again.

But he didn't. It was very silent.

Sora was made even more uncertain. Had he even heard the sound to begin with? Had his mind been playing tricks on him? Had he been hallucinating? Those questions swam about in his head, and he sure hoped the answer to the last one was no. It was far too early in the day to imagine things, although seeing and hearing what wasn't supposed to be seen and heard in this house wasn't even in his list of things to do.

That only caused him to will things to stay as normal as he had previously thought. After all, what was one supposed to do if he didn't believe that his house was a safe haven for him? "Nothing's wrong, Sora. Nothing's wrong," he said those words out loud. "Must've been one of the boxes. They're stacked so high up… it's not strange if one falls down, right? Yeah, that must be it."

Having convinced himself that the sound was nothing supernatural in nature, Sora again walked away to head upstairs, proceeding with his intention of informing his parents about his plan to move the boxes into the store.

* * *

The family had gathered together in the kitchen, ready to enjoy the breakfast that the mother was preparing for them. That had saved Sora the trouble of waking them up, because not only he was actually reluctant to do so considering they had worked until late last night, but his father was known as a heavy sleeper that wouldn't wake up from his sleep even in the event of fire or earthquake.

After waiting for some time, the meal was finally ready. Sora almost forgot to thank his mother before digging into the plate simply because he had been tantalised for too long by the fragrant aroma of the breakfast wafting in the air during their preparation. This menu was by far his favourite; nothing would ever brighten his mood in the morning more than a few strips of bacon grilled to perfection that was crispy and a sunnyside-up egg that was almost as bright as the sun itself. Add a glass of milk into the equation and Sora would belch in complete satisfaction at the end of his meal.

"Don't eat too fast, Sora. It'd be a shame if you choke on the bacon," the father warned seeing Sora wolfing down his breakfast as though he hadn't eaten anything in the past week.

"Sorry, dad," replied Sora with his mouth full. His mother noticed this and threw him a glare; he cringed, and took his time chewing on his food and swallowed it before continuing. "Sorry… but mom always makes the best food. I can't help it."

After sipping from his cup of coffee, the father spoke again. "Well, now that you've mentioned it… I've never seen you eat like that when it's my turn to cook. Are you saying that… my cooking isn't as good as—"

"Whoa, dad, I didn't say that, okay?" Sora interjected, laughing.

The mother also chuckled, and the father was dismayed to know that she sided herself with Sora. "It's true, though. Whenever he decides to cook, it'd be best to have someone ready beside you in case of food poisoning."

At the mother's words, everybody at the table burst out laughing. She was the first to come to; seeing Sora's cheerful self, she figured he had all but recovered from his withdrawal. She would do anything to keep her son comfortable and make him at home, and knowing that the heart-to-heart they had had together yesterday afternoon had fulfilled its purpose, she gave a relieved smile.

She suddenly remembered the little competition that was going on between her and Sora. "So, what secrets has this young explorer unearthed so far?" she asked the boy.

"Secrets?" asked the father, interested in the topic.

The mother nodded in reply. "It's this game Sora and I are playing. We're in a race to find the ultimate treasure hidden in this house."

"I haven't found anything," said Sora in a nonchalant manner. However, remembering his experiences earlier on that he had almost forgotten due to the food, his expression tensed a bit. He decided to refrain from mentioning anything about the sound, though. "But that reminds me, mom. Actually, this morning I found a room under the stairs… I think it's the store, so I'm thinking of moving all the empty boxes there."

To Sora's surprise, the easy atmosphere in the room died down. His father narrowed his eyes and looked at him incredulously. "Under the stairs? You mean the small hallway by the backyard door?"

"Y-yeah?" he replied in an uncertain manner. To be honest, the way his father had asked caused this uneasy feeling within him to resurface.

"I thought there was only a boarded-up wall there," said the mother, who then exchanged looks with her husband. "Someone must've taken the boards down. Was it you?"

The father shook his head. "Must've been one of the movers. I should've told them not to touch anything."

"Probably. You didn't take them down, did you, honey?"

"No… I, uh, I didn't even know there was something there," replied Sora again, stuttering. "Is… is this bad? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Why would you think something bad's going to happen? Don't worry," the father reassured. "I just found it strange that someone actually boarded up a store. That doesn't make sense, although it does explain why we couldn't find a place to move all those boxes to yesterday."

Sora seriously wasn't liking where the conversation had taken them all to. Had he brought a topic he shouldn't have? Sure, his father might have said there was nothing to worry about, but still… now the idea of the store being a mysterious space, possibly holding more secrets than met the eye, didn't seem to be all too far-fetched, and he hated to admit that it was true.

His train of thought was broken by a ruffling sensation against his hair. Nobody else would do that except his mother. "In any case, it looks like our young explorer is already one step ahead. Shall we check it out later for treasures, then?"

Sora only stared at the yolk of his egg uncertainly. "I… don't think I like being around there."

"Take it easy, Sora. I told you there's nothing to worry about. It's only a room we just haven't seen yesterday, big deal," said the father.

"I dunno… but yeah, I hope so."

The rest of the breakfast period was spent in silence, the only sounds present being those of cutleries hitting against the porcelain plates. Once they were all done and the dishes had been washed clean, the mother once again expressed her interest to have a look at this store. Sora was still unsure if he should come or not, but remembered that what had led all things here was his intention to help move the empty boxes over—he did still want to accomplish that.

A pat on the head was all it needed for Sora to finally comply and tag along, and he could only hope nothing weird would be taking place.

* * *

"This is where the boards were, alright. And now they're nowhere to be seen."

"Leaving us with something else. So, shall we check it out?"

"Be careful, dad, it's very dusty inside."

Thanking Sora for the heads-up, the father slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the black door open, revealing the dark, cold, and damp store for all to see. The light from outside allowed him to see, albeit without great detail, boxes being stacked on top of one another, which had left him with only so much space. Also, it seemed that Sora had underestimated the dust; just by exhaling gently he was able to agitate the dust, which wasn't good.

To allow himself to see more clearly, the father hit the switch and the lamp came to life, bathing the store in eerie orange light. It was similar to the yellow-golden tone cast by the Twilight Town sun, but that one had a peaceful, relaxing tone. On the other hand, there seemed to be no positive adjectives that could be applied to the glow of this particular lamp; if anything, it was sinister.

He then began inspecting what was in the room, starting from the object closest to him. "Alright, what do we have here? Boxes upon boxes… upon boxes. This is really dangerous. I wonder what's inside."

It was then that realisation suddenly hit Sora. "Huh? That's weird, I'm pretty sure I left the light on…"

"What's that, Sora?" asked the father.

"He said he didn't turn off the light, and that it's strange," replied the mother in Sora's stead.

The father just shrugged and dismissed Sora's worry. "From the looks of it, this room has been untouched for no one knows how long. It's possible that the lamp—"

Before the father could end his sentence, he was silenced by the lamp's sudden failure.

"Shit. This is what I was saying."

The room was once again blanketed in darkness, prompting him to flick the light switch up and down. It bore no fruit, though; it seemed that was it for the lamp, and nothing would be able to bring it back to life. With no other options available, he was forced to be done with his little inspection.

"Dad! Are you okay?" Sora shouted, worry present in the voice.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. But don't come in here," the father warned. "It's dangerous to be in a dark, confined space like this. I'll replace the light bulb, but let's do that tomorrow because we still have work to do today." He then emerged from the room, shook off the dust that had clung onto his clothes and hair, and turned to face Sora. "Sorry, I think those boxes have to go somewhere else until then. Thanks for wanting to help out, though."

"Oh well, at least you're okay," the boy replied with a sigh of relief. "But the boxes… they're an eyesore."

"Not much more of an eyesore than your ransacked room, if you ask me," the mother cleverly responded, leaving Sora with nothing to retort with for he knew it was true. That pout on his defeated expression was just very amusing, she thought. "Well, I guess we're done here for now. Let's get going."

The father nodded, indicating his agreement. "I can't believe how dirty I've gotten in just a short while! I need a shower and my clothes a good laundry."

Now Sora was alone. Upon noticing that the door to the store was still open, he decided to challenge his worry and entered the room to make sure the lamp was dead for real. Not expecting it to turn on, Sora flicked the switch, and was totally relieved to know that it didn't—he would have freaked out real bad otherwise. He then poked some of the boxes, and decided that indeed, were one to fall down and hit the floor, it would give off a sound just like the one he had heard earlier.

"I've been thinking about it too much. See, nothing's happened… and everything's gonna be fine," he said with a smile. Truth be told, he felt like an idiot for believing even for just a moment there that the house was haunted.

Sora exited the store and shut the door, feeling a rush of cold air as he did so. If he hadn't remembered that the room had been sealed for a long time, causing the air inside to go stale, he would have thought that a ghost had just gone past him. He chuckled at that stupid, overly imaginative thought of him, and strolled back upstairs in an almost galloping manner to get a good shower.

Unfortunately, Sora had overlooked something.

There had been no signs of any of the boxes falling off the stacks. When his father had come in, there had been no stray boxes on the floor.

This meant the thud had come from something else.

But what?


	3. Night of a Sleepless Dream

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise._

_Enjoy the read._

* * *

Just like the first, the second day had been uneventful except for that little lights-out incident in the store. The family had spent the day with energy-expending, exhausting activities of arranging furnitures. It had sucked big time, because they had been sweating like crazy, but at least they had managed to have everything accomplished before dinner thanks to the combined effort of everybody.

The room that had received the most makeover had to be the father's study. Located on the second floor right above the doors leading the courtyard, it had only been an empty room that morning—the same room Sora had come across when he was in his quest for the store. It was nothing short of amazing to see the transformation that they had brought upon it.

It had been turned into a library-like room, tall bookshelves leaning against three of the four walls. They were chockablock with novels, all of them mystery or horror; at first glance it was already obvious that those books served as the father's repository of inspiration for whenever he was faced with writer's block not major enough to need him to go out and travel. Right across the door was a workstation consisting of a heavy, sturdy oak desk, a matching chair, a computer, a tablet, some stationery, a digital clock, and a desk lamp.

This workstation was where the father did the bulk of his work, just like right now.

After the dinner, the father had straightaway headed to the bathroom for a good round of shower. Emerging from there, he had gone into the study and admired how well everything had been arranged; all seemed to have assumed its place perfectly. He had been in such a good mood that he had gotten this urge to write, which was why he was typing relentlessly on his keyboard right now. The ideas just flowed out of his head and into the monitor, and it was such a wonderful feeling.

In truth, he had been like this for a few hours. The only instances in which the door had opened were that one time when he had needed to use the toilet, and also when Sora had come in to deliver his cup of coffee three hours ago. The boy was aware that the father had been in a writing spree; every time it happened, he would stay up until late at night—sometimes skipping sleep altogether—and truth be told, Sora was worried that someday this bad habit would do a number on his health.

"Again, dad? You could get sick," Sora had said.

"That's so nice of you to worry about me, but don't. I'll be alright," he had replied. "You should go and get some sleep since it's already eleven. Thanks for the coffee."

"Okay. Night, dad."

"Good night, Sora. Sweet dreams."

It was the father all alone again after Sora had left. He had gotten so lost in his writing that he didn't realise he had lost track of time; when he checked the clock on his desk, he was truly surprised to learn that it was already past two in the wee hours of morning. His heart actually wanted him to carry on because he was still on fire, but his head prevented him from doing so, bringing the image of the concerned Sora to his mind.

Ultimately, he chose to follow the head over the heart to honour his son's request and concern. He took a final sip of the now cold coffee—it was always warm for him since it had been made with love—and stretched his limbs, causing a wonderful feeling to course through his body. "Alright, I think that's enough for today. Managed to let out a real good number of pages."

The father then saved his work, turned off the computer, and prepared to head back to his room. After making sure he hadn't left anything else on, he turned off the light and exited the room. Finally, after heaven knew how many hours of physical and mental labour, he could hit the hay and call it a day, and oh, what a wonderful feeling it was to dive into slumber knowing that one had done everything to the best of his or her capability that day.

Suddenly, he heard sneezing. It was faint, weak, and sounded like a kid's, so it didn't take long for him to figure that Sora must be the one making the sounds. As he continued walking toward his room, the sneezing got worse to the point that one was almost immediately followed by another, and not long after, coughing sounds could be heard as well.

It finally got so bad the father couldn't just let it be. He wanted to check on his son, so he did. "Poor Sora. I should've been the one getting sick, not him…"

As he neared Sora's room, the fit became even worse. He cringed, feeling sad that Sora had to endure the pain. Questions began to pop up in his mind; when he came to deliver the coffee, he had been fit as a fiddle. Sora was a healthy boy who very rarely got ill, which was why him being like this was every reason to be worried.

The father knocked on Sora's door. "Are you alright, Sora?"

Strangely, after he asked the question, the sickly sounds stopped. Not only stopped, mind you, but they had completely subsided. Even after waiting for a minute, no more coughing and sneezing could be heard, which was an interesting—if not downright strange—turn of events considering how Sora had been doing so like crazy for the past few minutes.

That didn't stop the father from coming in to check on him, though. "Sora? I'm coming in," he said while gently pushing the door open.

But what he saw next, he would be having a really, really hard time believing.

There was absolutely no sign of Sora being there.

He could only stare, wide-eyed, in disbelief at the bed across which Sora's red blanket was strewn unceremoniously. That was all the available proof that the boy had been there and that he didn't just magically disappear into thin air. But the fact remained that he practically had, and it was enough to send the father into a freaked-out state.

"Sora? Sora! Where are you?" he called out frantically as he searched the room. Alas, his efforts were in vain. "Come on, this isn't the time to be playing around… answer me, Sora."

Shouting Sora's name, the father made his hurried exit from the black-and-white room. He didn't care if he would wake his wife with that loud voice of his; in fact, that would be great, for he would appreciate any additional help he could get his hand on. He started scouring the second floor from the bathroom, his study once again, the solarium, the balcony, his own bedroom, but no, Sora was nowhere to be found.

Muttering swear words he would never say in front of his wife and son, he descended the stairs to the first floor. For some reason, the kitchen was the first place that came across his mind to look for Sora, so that was where he decided to go first. He let his feet take him there, and right now, he was just a step away from the doorway to his destination…

… and it was then that he heard another kind of sound.

This time, it was a series of knocks on a door. Those sounds stopped the father from advancing forward; he turned around and scanned the foyer which was as devoid of people as it could be.

"Sora? Is that you?" he asked again.

No answer. The knocks came again, so he immediately seized the opportunity to find out what was causing them and where they had originated from. He hoped hard that they weren't coming from the outside—seriously, who would like to receive a guest at two thirty in the morning?—but to be honest, it would be even more frightening if they came from somewhere inside the house.

It turned out the knocks were periodic. Three knocks, pause, three knocks, pause… all over again. The father relied on this fact to track down the origin of the sounds, and he was finally brought to the space between the two stairwells leading up. There, the knocks were more audible, and it was already painfully obvious that they came from the direction of the store.

The store.

He rounded the corner and, in a mix of surprise and relief, found his son by the door to the store. What made him even more bewildered—borderline frightened, perhaps—though, was the fact that it was indeed Sora who had been making the sounds. He failed to respond to verbal clues from his father, and in his subconscious kept knocking periodically on the door with his fist.

The father knew he had to get Sora to sleep properly, otherwise he would be very weak, tired, and even sleepier in the morning. It wasn't until when he had fastened, albeit gently, his grasp on Sora's wrist that he stopped knocking on the door. However, the boy's body suddenly became limp, and if his father hadn't reacted quickly enough, he would probably have kissed the floor.

"Come on. Let's get you back to your room."

The father then helped Sora return to the room, piggyback style. He tucked him under the sheets so that he would feel warm and comfortable. A tangled mess of thoughts still roamed about in his head; Sora showed no signs of sickness, so who had been coughing and sneezing? He also had never sleepwalked before, so why now? And why the store, of all places? And if memory served him right, hadn't Sora mentioned that he wasn't all that comfortable being near that place?

It was too much for him to take in, so he decided to just let it slide for the night and save the questions for tomorrow. Right now Sora was in no condition to answer anyway, and he wouldn't have the heart to wake him up just to interrogate him about something he possibly wouldn't be able to recall having done. With that in mind, he left the bedroom after planting a light kiss on his forehead.

"Sleep tight and good night, Sora."

* * *

A breeze picked up and someone sneezed.

Sora subconsciously drew his blanket over his head, covering his entire body. He felt a heavenly sensation of warmth course through his veins, washing the offending cold away from his being. Snuggling and holding tight onto his bolster, he fell deep down into the realm of sleep in no time as sheer comfort engulfed him in its warm embrace.

Yet again, Sora had failed to notice that something wasn't quite right, this time due to being in slumber.

His door and windows had all been shut tight, so there was no rational way a breeze could have made its way into the room. He also didn't register that the sneeze hadn't come from him.

Perhaps Sora should thank his lucky stars he hadn't been awake. If he had, he would have screamed like a madman and run off to his parents' room crying his lungs out.

There was someone—something—standing by Sora's bed, watching him and his every movement. It was a silhouette that didn't have a clearly defined outline. Its profile flickering in and out of the vision of those who happened to see it, the only readily discernible feature of this ominous entity was its eyes that were glowing in the most unearthly manner in the darkness of the room.

It was a shadow person.

"So… ra…?" it whispered, sending another wave of chill that infiltrated the sleeping boy's blanket and causing him to shudder. "Your name… Sora…"

* * *

"I sleepwalked?" Sora lifted his gaze from the plate to meet his father's as he asked so.

The father sipped his morning coffee, set the cup down on the table, and nodded. "Want to take a guess what you were doing when I found you? Probably you're not going to like it, though."

Sora was curious to know, but the way his father had said his last sentence made him think the second time. Possibilities assaulted his mind; he tended to get hungry at night, so had he been walking about in the kitchen? Or had he subconsciously gone to the toilet and not been able to find his way back? Or worse yet, had he been wandering around the house naked? He didn't know where he got the idea of the last one from, but cringed at the thought nonetheless.

As though on cue, his father gave a clarification on that matter. "You were knocking on the store door. What did you do that for?"

"The store?" Sora's eyes widened. "What was I doing there?"

"That's exactly what I was asking."

"Well, you tell me, dad. I don't even remember a thing…"

Next it was his mother's turn to speak. "Your father also said you were coughing and sneezing last night. Were you sick?"

Getting more confused, Sora tilted his head to the side. He didn't remember showing any signs of illness, although he did remember that it had gotten slightly cold last night. Perhaps that explained why he had been sneezing, but as for coughing, he really had no idea. He knew his body and state of health, and he couldn't be more certain that he had been, and was, healthy.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again. She pressed the back of her palm against Sora's forehead just to make sure he wasn't having any fever.

"Yeah. I'm really strong, don't you remember?" replied Sora while flexing his arms to emphasise his point.

The mother chuckled and ruffled her son's spiky mess of hair. "Of course you are. Now finish your breakfast so you can take a shower."

Sora did as thought. Her mother had offered to wash the dishes for him, so he immediately set off to the bathroom to have his morning shower. Not long after, the father also finished his breakfast, what remained being the cup of coffee he had been sipping in a leisurely pace. The mother collected all the plates, earning a "thanks" from her husband, and started washing them clean.

There was a slight period of silence before she spoke up. "You do know we can all go together if you want."

The father reassured that whatever it was, she didn't have to go. "Paperwork's a hell to go through. It's okay, I'll be fine as long as they don't get all too nosy."

"I was thinking of introducing myself and Sora along," she said again.

"Nah, he'd get bored easily. The mayor's going to visit our home someday anyway, so we can do all the intro then," he replied as he stood up, walked toward the sink, and handed his wife the now empty cup. He then proceeded to tenderly wrap his arms around her waist. "Besides, who's going to take care of our precious Sora and wonderful house if you're not around, Celia?"

The mother sighed, knowing that she wouldn't have her way now that he had unleashed his sure-fire way to make her yield: affection. Sora had always been able to do so, too, especially combined with those adorable puppy eyes. She didn't seem to mind, though. "Alright. Give my regards to the mayor, and tell him that the best time to visit is probably in the evening when things are starting to wind down."

He nodded in acknowledgement. "Will do. Anything else?"

"Don't forget the light bulb."

"The store, huh… there are more important things to do about that room, too."

The mother shut the tap and turned around. "You promised Sora."

"Hey, I'm not about to go back on my words. I was just saying that much has to be done about it, not just the light bulb."

"Sure you were."

After sharing an affectionate moment, the couple let go. The father went back upstairs and prepared to go out and settle some paperwork regarding his moving-in, family registration, and issuance of new identification cards. On the other hand, the mother headed to the bathroom; she was just in time to see Sora emerge from inside, and knowing she would like to collect the clothes basket, he offered to help bring it over to the laundry.

Grateful, she allowed him to use his free time to do whatever he pleased. "Just don't wander around too much, because I'm going to clean the floor later. Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" he replied with a salute before storming off to his room to play.

And with that, it was now time for the mother to do house chores. She felt thrilled because it had been ages since the last time she had done this, and as such it was a welcome change of pace. However, she knew that she wouldn't be able to take on everything, everyday considering the sheer size of the house, leading her to contemplate employing probably two maids: one to take care of the house, the other Sora.

"We can talk about it later, though. Now let's get things done," she said in a determined manner.

* * *

_Post-note: Celia is the feminine form of the Anglicised version of caelum, a word that means "heaven" in Latin. It was chosen to go together with the theme of Sora's name (which is the Japanese word for "sky")._


End file.
